Shoe comfort strap devices and methods of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A shoe comfort device including a flexible length, a fixing end, and a detachable heel attachment, constructed to support a shoe substantially against the bottom of a human foot.

FIELD

The subject technology generally relates to shoe comfort strap devicesthat are configured to detachably connect to the heel of a shoe, andtheir methods of manufacture. Preferably, but not exclusively, the strapdevices are configured for use with a woman's high-heeled stiletto-styleshoe.

BACKGROUND

Women love shoes. The appeal of a woman in a beautiful pair of shoes isnearly universal, across many cultures and backgrounds. Women wear highheels practically everywhere: to school, at work, and at play. Womenoften buy shoes for their aesthetics, for instance with a high heel togive swagger and poise. The higher the heel, however, the steeper theincline against which the arch of the foot rests, pushing and possiblycrushing the toes into the point of a shoe, with the woman's heel thenextending a great distance from the rear of the shoe, or what istypically called the heel collar.

When too much distance is present between a woman's heel and the heelcollar, the shoe can “flop” with each step. When shoes flop around theycan be dangerous to the wearer, causing them to be unstable andpotentially fall. For these reasons women sometimes buy shoes that areactually a size or two too small for their feet, which forces their toesand balls of their feet against the structure of the shoe. This attemptat a solution can cause blisters, cramped/crushed toes, and even causeskeletal alignment issues. Even simply wearing the correct size in ahigh heel can actually cause muscle damage and permanent deformation,according to Drs. Neil Cronin, Rod Barrett, and Christopher Carty'sarticle “Long-term Use of High Heeled Shoes Alters the Neuromechanics ofHuman Walking,” Journal of Applied Physiology, January, 2012. In sum,heels are admired but they can cause damage to the feet. Further, somewomen have high-heeled shoes they would like to wear, but choose not tobecause of “flopping” or due to an improper fit.

SUMMARY

The subject technology overcomes the previous problems by providing ashoe comfort strap device that is configured to support a shoesubstantially against the bottom of a human foot. Individual embodimentsof the instant invention may include all of the elements of the claimsand written description as provided herein, or a portion or portions ofthe element(s) of the claims and written description as provided herein.

In accordance with the subject technology, a shoe comfort strap deviceis provided with a flexible length, a fixing end, and a heel attachment.The flexible length includes at least two ends, is typically no morethan 2 inches in width and 18 inches in length. The fixing end isdisposed at one end of the flexible length, with the heel attachmentaffixed between the fixing end and another end of the flexible length.The fixing end is configured to connect to the flexible length around ahuman foot or ankle area, with the heel attachment detachably connectedto the heel of the shoe, to support the shoe substantially against thebottom of a human foot. The shoe comfort strap device may bemanufactured using the steps of braiding or linking the flexible length,the fixing end, and the heel attachment together in a unitary body.

Additional features and advantages of the subject technology will be setforth in the description below, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the subject technology.The advantages of the subject technology will be realized and attainedby the structure particularly pointed out in the written description andclaims hereof, as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the subject technology asclaimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide furtherunderstanding of the subject technology and are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate aspects of thesubject technology and together with the description serve to explainthe principles of the subject technology. The features and nature of thepresent disclosure will become more apparent from the detaileddescription set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawingsin which like reference characters identify correspondingly throughoutand wherein:

FIG. 1 is an illustration exemplifying potential problems with wearinghigh heels.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary shoe comfort strap device.

FIG. 3 illustrates an empty high-heeled shoe with an exemplary shoecomfort strap device deployed in use with the shoe.

FIG. 4 illustrates an empty high-heeled shoe positioned next to anexemplary shoe comfort strap device including a heel protector and anelastic fitting.

FIG. 5 illustrates the exemplary shoe comfort strap device previously ofFIG. 4, as the shoe comfort strap's heel protector is placed upon andworked up the heel of the shoe.

FIG. 6 illustrates the exemplary shoe comfort strap device previously ofFIGS. 4 and 5, with the heel protector substantially encapsulating theheel and the elastic fitting pulled up and over the heel collar of theshoe, thereby holding the shoe comfort strap in place on the shoe.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary shoe comfort strap device deployed inuse with a shoe filled with a human foot.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary shoe comfort strap device deployed inuse with a shoe filled with a human foot.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary shoe comfort strap device deployed inuse with a shoe filled with a human foot.

FIG. 10 is a method step chart illustrating basic, exemplary steps usedin the creation of an exemplary shoe comfort strap device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth to provide a full understanding of the subject technology. It willbe obvious, however, to one ordinarily skilled in the art that thesubject technology may be practiced without some of these specificdetails. In other instances, well-known structures and techniques havenot been shown in detail so as not to obscure the subject technology.

FIG. 1 illustrates some of the problems with wearing high heels. Asshown in the Figure, a person's foot/ankle 1 extends from a high heelshoe 4. High heel shoe 4 includes the stiletto heel 3 and the heelcollar 2. Due to the relative height of the stiletto heel 3, thefoot/ankle 1 displaces from the heel collar 2, resulting in “gap” orspace 5. Space 5 can cause the shoe 4 to be unstable and to “flop.”Unstable shoes can be dangerous. The movement of the foot/ankle 1relatively “out” of the heel collar 2, followed by movement back withinthe heel collar 2 as a person walks, can cause blisters. Additionally,the crunching of the toes to the front of the shoe 4 caused by theheight of the stiletto heel 3 can cause permanent deformities to thefoot/ankle 1, including skin damage, muscle damage, and skeletalalignment issues between the many bones in the toes, foot, and ankle

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment of theinvention. As shown in FIG. 2, a shoe comfort strap device 6 isprovided. The device includes a flexible length 9. While the callout forelement 9 shows the flexible length as including an end portion of thedevice, the flexible length in various embodiments may be interpreted toinclude the entire length of device 6. In addition, the shoe comfortdevice strap 6 includes a fixing end 8 and a heel attachment 7.

The shoe comfort device 6 may comprise strips of leather than have beenbraided together and linked to a buckle or other fixing end 8, such as asnap, button, hook, latch, or additional fixing/connecting means. Theshoe comfort device 6 may also comprise links of metal, for instance,steel or titanium links that form a portion or even an entirety orsubstantial majority of the shoe comfort device 6.

In an exemplary embodiment, the shoe comfort device 6 may be acentimeter or more in width, up to a width of substantially a few ormore inches, and may be as long as up to 18-24 inches in length, withlonger lengths potentially being used to wrap multiple times around afoot, as is further described in detail herein. In additionalembodiments, the flexible length may be a thin string or strip ofplastic or nylon, including variants of polyethylene.

Various embodiments of the shoe comfort strap device 6 have varyingtensile strengths. For instance, an embodiment crafted entirely oftitanium chain links would have an ultimate strength of approximately1040 megapascals, while an embodiment comprised entirely of aromaticpolyamide, or paramid, for instance Kevlar™ made by Dupont, would havean ultimate strength of approximately 2757 megapascals, and anembodiment comprised substantially of leather would have an ultimatestrength of approximately 20-50 megapascals.

In an embodiment where the flexible length 9 is braided leather, theleather is braided and linked, or otherwise stitched to a buckle, actingas fixing end 8. During the braiding of the leather strips, preferably2-5 strips of leather are used for a total width of typically less than2 inches. For heel attachment 7, the leather strips are braided to forma fixed lariat-style loop located about three to seven inches fromfixing end 8 and in-between fixing end 8 and the opposite end offlexible length 9. The leather strips are braided until an appropriatelength of the shoe comfort strap device 6 is reached, typically abouteight to twelve inches in length to connect in one loop around thetypical human foot and for about twice those lengths for two loopsaround the typical human foot, in differing embodiments. The ordinarilyskilled artisan comprehends that leather is shown by way of exampleonly, and that various other materials, including plastics, metals,strips, strings, and various combinations of materials could be used toconstruct device 6.

FIG. 3 illustrates a leather embodiment of the shoe comfort strap device6 including flexible length 9, fixing end 8, and heel attachment 7. Asshown in the figure, device 6 has been deployed around an emptystiletto-style shoe 4, with stiletto heel 3 and heel collar 2. The fixedlariat-style loop comprising the detachable heel attachment 7 holds thedevice 6 in place on shoe 4 once the flexible length 9 has been fedthrough fixing end 8 and connected. Because no human foot occupies shoe4, the flexible length 9 appears to dangle nearly to a ground surface.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the shoe comfort strap device 6including flexible length 9, fixing end 8, heel attachment 7, annularheel tip opening 12, heel protector 11, and elastic portion 10. Alsoshown in FIG. 4 is empty shoe 4, including stiletto heel 3 and heelcollar 2. The empty shoe 4 is provided for frame of reference inrelation to FIGS. 5 and 6.

Heel protector 11 comprises a semi-form fitting material for coveringstiletto heel 3 Annular heel tip opening 12 comprises an opening that mybe elastic from a diameter of less than one centimeter to multiplecentimeters in diameter, and provides means for keeping the bottomportion of heel protector 11 near the bottom of stiletto heel 3, oncethe device 6 is attached to shoe 4. This embodiment of device 6 isfurther explained in relation to FIGS. 5 and 6.

As shown in FIG. 5, shoe comfort strap device 6 includes flexible length9, fixing end 8, heel attachment 7, annular heel tip opening 12, heelprotector 11, and elastic portion 10. Shoe 4 is also shown with stilettoheel 3 and heel collar 2. The heel protector 11 partially coversstiletto heel 3 as the device 6 is moved onto shoe 4 Annular heel tipopening 12 is provided at the bottom of stiletto heel 3, its diameter“grasping” stiletto heel 3 and holding the bottom portion of heelprotector 11 in place against heel 3. This embodiment of device 6 isfurther described in relation to FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, shoe comfort strap device 6 includes flexible length9, fixing end 8, heel attachment 7, annular heel tip opening 12, heelprotector 11, and elastic portion 10. Shoe 4 is also shown with stilettoheel 3 and heel collar 2. The heel protector 11 substantiallyencapsulates stiletto heel 3 as the device 6 has been moved onto shoe 4.Annular heel tip opening 12 “grasps” stiletto heel 3 and holds thebottom portion of heel protector 11 in place against heel 3.

Elastic portion 10 has been pulled up and over heel collar 2, pullingheel attachment 7 close in, against, and around heel 3. Once pulled overheel collar 2, elastic portion 10 keeps device 6 in an attached positionon shoe 4 for use by a wearer/user by creating tension against stilettoheel 3 via heel attachment 7. Not all of elastic portion 10 need beelastic, but may include a smaller section 13 that is elastic nearlyentirely around the top area of where heel collar 2 is located beneathdevice 6 at the top of shoe 4. Heel protector 11, elastic portion 10,flexible length 9 and fixing end 8 may comprise lace, orfanciful/colorful material. Flexible length 9 and fixing end 8 maycomprise ribbon and may be located below the heel collar 2 along theperiphery/edge of the opening of shoe 4, or may be located higher upand/or above heel collar 2.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment with shoe comfort strap device 6including flexible length 9, fixing end 8, and heel attachment 7,disposed and in use around human foot/ankle 1, with foot/ankle 1inserted into shoe 4. Shoe 4 comprises stiletto heel 3, and heel collar2. Flexible length 9 has been fed around the foot and into fixing end 8,where the two connect, thereby keeping heel attachment 7 in place, andalso keeping gap/space 5 to a minimum while a user walks wearing shoe 4.This gives the user a stable shoe that does not “flop” around, that doesnot rub the heel unnecessarily in the vicinity of heel collar 2, andthat also allows the user to wear the correctly sized shoe 4, despitepractically any height of stiletto heel 3.

FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment with shoe comfort strap device 6including flexible length 9, fixing end 8, heel attachment 7, annularheel opening 12, heel protector 11, elastic portion 10 andsmaller-elastic portion 13 disposed and in use around human foot/ankle1, with foot/ankle 1 inserted into shoe 4. Shoe 4 comprises stilettoheel 3, and heel collar 2 (covered by elastic portion 10). Flexiblelength 9 has been fed around the ankle and into fixing end 8, where thetwo connect (not shown), thereby keeping heel attachment 7 in place, andalso keeping gap/space 5 to a minimum while a user walks wearing shoe 4.This gives the user a stable shoe that does not “flop” around, that doesnot rub the heel unnecessarily in the vicinity of heel collar 2, andthat also allows the user to wear the correctly sized shoe 4, despitepractically any height of stiletto heel 3.

FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment with shoe comfort strap device 6including flexible length 9, fixing end 8, heel attachment 7, annularheel opening 12, heel protector 11, elastic portion 10 andsmaller-elastic portion 13 disposed and in use around human foot/ankle1, with foot/ankle 1 inserted into shoe 4. Shoe 4 comprises stilettoheel 3, and heel collar 2 (covered by elastic portion 10). Flexiblelength 9 has been fed around the ankle and into fixing end 8, where thetwo connect in a stylish ribbon-bow, thereby keeping heel attachment 7in place, and also keeping gap/space 5 to a minimum while a user walkswearing shoe 4. This gives the user a stable shoe that does not “flop”around, that does not rub the heel unnecessarily in the vicinity of heelcollar 2, and that also allows the user to wear the correctly sized shoe4, despite practically any height of stiletto heel 3. Heel protector 11protects the stiletto heel 3 from nicks, marks, and mars caused througheveryday use.

FIG. 10 illustrates the method steps required to manufacture the shoecomfort strap device 6. As shown in the first step, materials arebraided together, for instance leather materials as described above, tocreate a flexible length, a heel attachment and a fixing end. Othermaterials may be used, for instance, metal links that are each linkedtogether to the correct length and width, to create a flexible length, aheel attachment, and a fixing end. Other materials could also beutilized, as described herein and as known in the art.

As shown in the second step illustrated in FIG. 10, each of the flexiblelength, the heel attachment, and the fixing end are then made into aunitary body that comprises the shoe comfort strap device 6, asdescribed herein. The individual parts may be braided together, linkedtogether, sewn or glued together, or otherwise connected as known tothose of ordinary skill in the art.

The description of the subject technology is provided to enable anyperson skilled in the art to practice the various configurationsdescribed herein. While the disclosure has been particularly describedwith reference to the various figures and configurations, it should beunderstood that these are for illustration purposes only and should notbe taken as limiting the scope of the subject technology.

There may be many other ways to implement the subject technology.Various functions and elements described herein may be partitioneddifferently from those shown without departing from the sprit and scopeof the subject technology. Various modifications to these configurationswill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and genericprinciples defined herein may be applied to other configurations. Thus,many changes and modifications may be made to the subject technology, byone having ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spiritand scope of the subject technology.

It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps or blocksin the processes disclosed is an illustration of exemplary approaches.Based upon design preferences, it is understood that the specific orderor hierarchy of steps or blocks in the processes may be rearranged. Theaccompanying method claims present elements of the various steps in asample order, and are not meant to be limited to the specific order orhierarchy presented.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. Pronouns in themasculine (e.g., his) include the feminine and neuter gender (e.g., herand its) and vice versa. All structural and functional equivalents tothe elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosurethat are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill inthe art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intendedto be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousconfigurations described throughout this disclosure that are known orlater come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and intended to beencompassed by the subject technology. Moreover, nothing disclosedherein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whethersuch disclosure is explicitly recited in the above description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A strap configured to support a shoesubstantially against the bottom of a human foot, comprising: a flexiblelength comprising at least two ends, the flexible length being of nomore than 2 inches in width and no more than 18 inches in length; afixing end on at least at one end of the flexible length; and a heelattachment configured to detachably connect to a heel of the shoe;wherein the fixing end is configured to connect to the flexible lengtharound a human foot or ankle area, with the heel attachment connected tothe heel of the shoe, to support the shoe substantially against thebottom of a human foot.
 2. The strap of claim 1, wherein: the heelattachment includes a heel protector that substantially encapsulates theheel of the shoe from near ground level to at least the point where theheel attaches to the bottom of the shoe.
 3. The strap of claim 1,comprising: an elastic portion connected with the heel attachment andconfigured to stretch around or against a rear, upper structure of theshoe, to create tension for the heel attachment against the heel and tohold the heel attachment in an attached position on the heel.
 4. Thestrap of claim 1, wherein: the flexible length has a tensile ultimatestrength of 2000 megapascals or less, 1200 megapascals or less, 500megapascals or less, and preferably 200 megapascals or less.
 5. Thestrap of claim 1, wherein: at least one of the fixing end, the flexiblelength, and the heel attachment comprise(s) at least one of leather andmetal.
 6. The strap of claim 1, wherein: at least one of the flexiblelength and the fixing end comprise(s) ribbon.
 7. The strap of claim 2,wherein: the heel protector comprises lace material.
 8. The strap ofclaim 3, wherein: the elastic portion comprises lace material.
 9. Amethod of manufacturing a strap configured to support a shoesubstantially against the bottom of a human foot, the strap comprising:(i) a flexible length comprising at least two ends, the flexible lengthbeing of no more than 2 inches in width and no more than 18 inches inlength, (ii) a fixing end on at least at one end of the flexible length,and (iii) a heel attachment configured to detachably connect to a heelof the shoe, wherein the fixing end is configured to connect to theflexible length around a human foot or ankle area, with the heelattachment connected to the heel of the shoe, to support the shoesubstantially against the bottom of a human foot, the method comprising:braiding or linking the flexible length, the fixing end, and the heelattachment into a unitary configuration comprising the strap.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising braiding or linking a heelprotector with the heel attachment, wherein the heel protectorsubstantially encapsulates the heel of the shoe from near ground levelto at least the point where the heel attaches to the bottom of the shoe.11. The method of claim 9, further comprising braiding or linking anelastic portion to the heel attachment, wherein the elastic portion isconfigured to stretch around or against a rear, upper structure of theshoe, to create tension for the heel attachment against the heel and tohold the heel attachment in an attached position on the heel.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein: the flexible length has a tensile ultimatestrength of 2000 megapascals or less, 1200 megapascals or less, 500megapascals or less, and preferably 200 megapascals or less.
 13. Themethod of claim 9, wherein: at least one of the fixing end, the flexiblelength, and the heel attachment comprise(s) at least one of leather andmetal.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein: at least one of the flexiblelength and the fixing end comprise(s) ribbon.
 15. The method of claim 9,wherein: the heel protector comprises lace material.
 16. The method ofclaim 9, wherein: the elastic portion comprises lace material.